Mesilla Valley gets welcome dousing of rainfall; more possible

Storm runoff flows Friday near Central Avenue and Mesa Drive on the East Mesa. More than 2 inches of rain fell in some parts of the Mesilla Valley in the early morning hours Friday. (Carlos Javier Sanchez — Sun-News)

With official rainfall totals for the year at less than an inch through Thursday afternoon, the latest batch of showers was welcomed by many Las Crucens.

"Yay! Keep it coming, we need it," said Karla Castill Barela, in a post Friday on the Sun-News' Facebook page.

Luis Carlos Pacheco added, "It's a good thing. I hope it rains more, we need it."

National Weather Service meteorologists said Pacheco's wish is probably going to be fulfilled. A 60 percent chance of "heavy rain" is forecast through today. John Fausett, NWS warning coordination meteorologist in Santa Teresa, said isolated areas of southern New Mexico and far west Texas could see as much as 5 inches of rain.

Fausett said some areas in the region received 2 to 3 inches from rains late Thursday into Friday.

"Fortunately, no major flooding was reported," Fausett said.

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Widespread rainfall

Rain began falling in Las Cruces about midnight Friday and continued off and on overnight. Rainfall totals posted on CoCoRAHS website early Friday showed La Mesa received 2.14 inches, and the average rainfall in Las Cruces was 1.32 inches. Mesilla Valley Bosque Park, along the Rio Grande near Mesilla, received 1.30 inches; Mesilla got 1.15 inches; and 1.19 inches was reported at New Mexico State University.

Average rainfall across Doña Ana County measured 1.22 inches. At White Sands Missile Range, rainfall ranged from 1.25 to 1.75 inches, with 3.36 inches reported at Apache Site, which is north of WSMR's Small Missile Range facility, off U.S. 70 south and east of WSMR's main post.

The rain late Thursday and early Friday was reminiscent of heavy rains that caused widespread flooding across southern New Mexico and El Paso in 2006. Fausett said the rain early Friday was on the eighth anniversary of those floods.

Damage reports few

Despite the storm, no major problems were reported to law enforcement or Las Cruces officials.

"Thankfully, the city has had no reported flooding or adverse drainage conditions reported or observed," City Manager Robert Garza said. "There are areas of shallow standing water and wet pavements, so we urge continued caution with potentially slick roadways. We also hear about more snakes and other natural desert creatures being more active since the rain fills their holes and forces them out into areas where we wouldn't expect to see them."

Garza added quite a bit of water remains behind the Las Cruces flood control dam and the city's outfall channel, which is designed to gradually drain rain water. The outfall channel was running at a good pace most of Friday.

Keep an eye on skies

Garza also reminded city residents to be aware circumstances could change as the weather does.

"As always, when we have multiple days of moderate to heavy downpours, the ground becomes saturated and future additional storms could aggravate an area that had not previously been a problem," Garza said.

Rain is expected to keep falling throughout the weekend. A flash flood watch for Doña Ana County remains in effect through 8 a.m. Saturday, and could potentially be extended into Sunday if heavy rain continues. Flash flood warnings could be issued if storms become particularly severe or linger.

Sun-News readers are encouraged to send reports and photos of any flooding they might see to news@lcsun-news.com.